NHL players all together as lockout looms

DETROIT – If there’s one difference between the last NHL lockout and the one that’s looming it’s how solidified the players are this time around.

“Guys are all on the same page, everyone across the board’s informed,” Ian White said Wednesday at Joe Louis Arena after another informal skate. “The last one was pretty much the polar opposite, nobody knew what was going on. Things were going on behind people’s backs. It’s a lot different this time around.”

“I think that has a lot to do with all the information we got this summer,” Henrik Zetterberg said. “Everyone was really informed. Guys over in Europe, it was a huge difference from ’04. Back in ’04, you really didn’t know what was going on, except what you were reading in the papers. This time around, as soon as we have a meeting or something happens, we have it on our emails later that afternoon. We all know, a lot more guys are on the conference calls, so we can spread the message around really good. Everyone is on the same page. Just having 250 guys going there today is proof of that.”

There were many fractions in the union the last time around that cost the league the entire 2004-05 season.

“I couldn’t even compare it to last time,” Niklas Kronwall said. “I know I was younger at the time and I didn’t have any clue what was going on. And I think a lot of the younger guys felt the older guys would just take care of things, they’ll make a good deal. Now it feels like a lot of the younger guys want to be a part of this and want to be involved. I think that’s great seeing them at these meeting, on the conference calls wanting to make their voice heard.”